A WhatsApp message to Dutch politician Frans Timmermans: would he take part in a documentary? “Behind the scenes and up close” is how filmmaker Dirk Jan Roeleven describes the essence of his request. He follows Timmermans for nearly two years, from his appointment as Vice-President of the European Commission to the Brexit referendum. The film moves at the swift pace of Timmermans’s life, balancing family with the demands of being an EU official. We shift effortlessly from an interview with CNN, a visit to a refugee camp in Greece, a meeting with Ban Ki-moon and a deadline for Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad, to Timmerman buying sneakers for his daughter. This film puts a truly human face on the institutions of the EU, shining the spotlight on a true believer in the European project.

Following the film Todd Hitchcock, Director of Programming at the American Film Institute Silver Theatre, will lead an audience Q&A discussion with Director Dirk Jan Roeleven.